(1)

No acquirer shall acquire shares or voting rights in a target company which taken together with shares or voting rights, if any, held by him and by persons acting in concert with him in such target company, entitle them to exercise twenty-five per cent or more of the voting rights in such target company unless the acquirer makes a public announcement of an open offer for acquiring shares of such target company in accordance with these regulations.

(2)

No acquirer, who together with persons acting in concert with him, has acquired and holds in accordance with these regulations shares or voting rights in a target company entitling them to exercise twenty-five per cent or more of the voting rights in the target company but less than the maximum permissible non-public shareholding, shall acquire within any financial year additional shares or voting rights in such target company entitling them to exercise more than five per cent of the voting rights, unless the acquirer makes a public announcement of an open offer for acquiring shares of such target company in accordance with these regulations:

Provided that such acquirer shall not be entitled to acquire or enter into any agreement to acquire shares or voting rights exceeding such number of shares as would take the aggregate shareholding pursuant to the acquisition above the maximum permissible non-public shareholding.

[Provided further that, acquisition pursuant to a resolution plan approved under section 31 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 [No. 31 of 2016] shall be exempt from the obligation under the proviso to the sub-regulation (2) of regulation 3.] [Inserted by Notification No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2018/20, dated 31.5.2018 (w.e.f. 23.9.2011).]

Explanation. - For purposes of determining the quantum of acquisition of additional voting rights under this sub-regulation,-

(i) gross acquisitions alone shall be taken into account regardless of any intermittent fall in shareholding or voting rights whether owing to disposal of shares held or dilution of voting rights owing to fresh issue of shares by the target company.

(ii) in the case of acquisition of shares by way of issue of new shares by the target company or where the target company has made an issue of new shares in any given financial year, the difference between the pre-allotment and the post-allotment percentage voting rights shall be regarded as the quantum of additional acquisition .

(3)

For the purposes of sub-regulation (1) and sub-regulation (2), acquisition of shares by any person,such that the individual shareholding of such person acquiring shares exceeds the stipulated thresholds, shall also be attracting the obligation to make an open offer for acquiring shares of the target company irrespective of whether there is a change in the aggregate shareholding with persons acting in concert.

(4)

[ Nothing contained in this regulation shall apply to acquisition of shares or voting rights of a company by the promoters or shareholders in control, in terms of the provisions of Chapter VI-A of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009.] [Inserted by the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016, w.e.f. 17-02-2016.]